Articles | Hearing Loss

Why It's Important to Have Your Ears Examined

Learning about ear health

Our ears play a crucial role in how we communicate with those around us. They are responsible for hearing and our sense of balance. When your ears aren’t functioning properly, you can experience an array of symptoms, including hearing loss, cognitive decline, balance issues, and delayed speech processing. Because our ears are such an important part of how we communicate and process information, it’s important to have them examined regularly.

We take precautions to ensure our overall health is in check every year, why don’t we do the same for our hearing? Just like you go to the dentist every six months to have your teeth checked and cleaned, you should be seeing a hearing healthcare professional annually as well. Having your ears examined yearly is linked to many health benefits, and can identify any arising issues. Discovering the signs of hearing loss early can prevent your hearing from deteriorating at a faster rate and allows your hearing healthcare provider to determine the cause.

Hearing loss can be caused by a variety of underlying health conditions, including heart disease, high blood pressure, and diabetes. Often times, these go undiagnosed and untreated. Hearing problems or earaches can also be caused by middle ear infections, inflammation of the outer ear, damage to the eardrum or hearing nerve, head/ear trauma, or exposure to loud noise. If you are experiencing earaches or are having trouble hearing, then you may have hearing loss and should contact your local EarQ provider as soon as possible to have your ears examined. Be proactive about your overall health and go in for an ear exam regularly.

What Happens at an Ear Exam?

Ear exams are simple and don’t take long. Your hearing healthcare professional will look inside your ears using an otoscope. They will look at your ear canal and eardrum, checking for any infections or damage. If you’re experiencing frequent ear discomfort, then you may have an issue with your middle ear or the eardrum. After the inside of your ears are checked, then your provider will perform a hearing test. This portion of the exam will look at your current hearing ability, and what types of sounds (if any) you are having difficulty with.

During the hearing test, you will sit inside a sound booth, wearing a pair of headphones. Your audiologist or hearing specialist will play a series of beeps and tones at different frequencies and every time you hear the beep you will raise your hand.

Even if you don’t believe you have hearing loss, it’s important to have your ears examined annually. Having a professional look inside your ears for any infections or damage can protect your hearing for the future. Hearing screenings are also pass or fail, so before you take a comprehensive hearing test, your provider will have you take a simple screening first. This allows you—and your provider—to get a general assessment of your hearing ability and if there are any issues they should be further testing for.

Find Your Provider

Annual ear exams are an essential way to ensure your ears and hearing are healthy. Our ears allow us to better communicate with those we love, keep us balanced, and help us feel our best. Add annual ear exams to your routine. Find your local EarQ provider today!


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